Accepting the Unique
by Shantel Lukasik
Summary: Lacey Oliver, Beck's cousin, comes to live with him to attend Hollywood Arts. She fits in with most of the group easily, but when Robbie get's interested he might have a chance. But will he give up Rex or can she learn to accept him? RobbiexOC
1. New Friends

Tori Vega walked into Hollywood Arts balancing textbooks in her right hand and a coffee in her left. She felt relieved as she spotted Beck talking to Jade by his locker. She stumbled over to them.

"A little help, please?" she requested.

Jade instantly grabbed the books from her. She sighed.

"Thanks, Ja-wait."

Jade never helped her, much less anyone in the world. Taking a better look at the girl, she saw it wasn't Jade at all. The girl had black hair with colored blue streaks, which was how Tori had mistaken her for Jade, but this girl's hair was shoulder length. Her skin was a light tan and she looked like a very beautiful female Beck.

"You're not Jade."

The girl smiled and followed Tori over to her locker. Beck followed.

"Nope. Tori, this is my cousin Lacey Oliver. Lace, this is Tori Vega."

Tori opened her locker and put her books inside with Lacey's help. Tori smiled at her.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. Are you visiting Beck for awhile?"

Lacey tugged on her blue hair with a grin.

"Oh, no. I'm new here. And before you ask, I'm pretty much interested in everything at this school so I'm taking most of the same classes as you guys."

"Except dance," Beck added," She's already a great dancer."

Tori laughed as Lacey gave Beck an affectionate punch on the arm.

"That's great. I hope we can be good friends."

Lacey beamed and looked up at Beck.

"See, why can't you date a girl like Tori? She's both pretty _and_ nice. Unlike that _nightmare_."

"That "nightmare" heard you."

Tori closed her locker and looked over to her left to her right to see Jade with an unamused expression on her face. Lacey gave Jade a huge fake smile.

"I know."

Jade walked up to the girl so that they were both glaring at each other. Tori looked up at Beck.

"Uhm…what…?"

"You remember my aunt who canceled me and Jade's trip to Cancun when she heard Jade was coming? Yeah, this is her daughter…"

She nodded in understanding as the two girls stood arguing. Looking at the two of them, they looked as if they could be sisters with the way they bickered.

"If you weren't Beck's cousin…"

"You'd what?"

"I'd…I'd do lots of bad things."

"I'm sure you already do. For instance, I'm already suffering from your presence."

"Ohhh, why you…"

Beck stepped between the two.

"Ladies, ladies…now, now. No fighting or I'll have to put you both in time out."

The two pouted, but stopped arguing. Tori tapped her foot awkwardly before looking at Lacey.

"So, Lacey, where are you staying?"

Lacey ran a hand through her hair like Beck did, which freaked Tori out just by the resemblance.

"I'm living with Beck. He was nice enough to let me share his trailer."

"Yay," Jade mumbled, sarcastically.

Jade grabbed Beck's hand and dragged him away. He turned to his cousin and waved before disappearing around the corner. Lacey rolled her eyes.

"You can see Jade loves me. Beck says Jade and I are fundamentally similar, but I don't see it. She likes strange things."

Tori understood what Beck meant just after witnessing the two together. They were both stubborn, not afraid to fight, and maybe even judgmental. She just smiled at her new friend.

"So, have you met anyone else other than me and your best friend, Jade?"

Lacey adjusted her bag as the bell rang.

"Uhm, yeah. I met this odd girl named Cat who was kind of cute in her own way and a really nice guy named Andre. The guy was playing a keyboard when I met him. So cool! Hey, do you have Sikowitz right now?"

"Yeah, follow me!"

The two girls walked to class chatting all the way. Tori could tell she was really going to like this girl. She was a lot like Beck, except with more of an edge. Or maybe she was just a friendly Jade. It was hard to describe her accurately. Walking into Sikowitz's class, Lacey stepped back as the teacher jumped off the stage and over to her. He grabbed her hand and started shaking it vigorously.

"You must be the new student. I'm your acting teacher. Now sit down."

Lacey glanced over at Tori who laughed and pulled the girl over to a seat. Tori sat next to Andre who greeted her as she took a seat. He even waved to Lacey, which made her smile. As she sat, Tori leaned over to her.

"Sikowitz is great, but he's very odd."

It was funny she said that word as a boy with a puppet sat down beside her. The puppet seemed to look at her, which slightly freaked her out.

"Well, aren't you quite the sexy thang."

She raised her eyebrows at it.

"Call me that again and you'll be a dismembered thang."

The puppet gaped at her and Tori laughed.

"That's Rex and our friend Robbie."

The boy Robbie, who was pretty much a white boy with an afro and nerd glasses, smiled at her and extended his hand.

"Yeah, I'm Robbie Shapiro. What's your name?"

She took it with a smile.

"Lacey Oliver, Beck's cousin."

Robbie's eyes shot up.

"Awesome."

The puppet named Rex interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah. Now introduce me properly, you idiot."

Robbie looked down at him.

"Oh, yeah. This is Rex."

Lacey frowned at him.

"Its…a puppet."

Robbie put his hands over Rex's ears.

"Shh, he doesn't like being called a puppet because he isn't one."

She slowly turned to look at Tori with a half skeptical, half frightened look. Her new friend put a hand on her shoulder.

"You get used to it."

"Riiiight."

Sikowitz got up in front of the class and rubbed his hands together.

"Okay, class! I'm going to be giving you all new assignment that will be due next week. I'm going to put you all in groups of four so that you can learn a script and present it in here on Monday."

He pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and waved it in front of all of them.

"Your groups are all listed on this piece of paper. I'll be putting it up on the board in case you all forget whose group you're in so, Apples, Cheetos, and Fi- oh, wait…this is my grocery list."

He tossed the paper down and rummaged around in his pocket again.

"Ah, here it is!" he said, pulling another paper out and began reeling off names.

It turned out that Lacey was in a group with Tori, Robbie, and Jade. After Sikowitz had finished with the list he gave out the scripts. Jade slowly turned in her chair to face the three sitting behind her. She looked at Lacey in particular.

"Oh, this should be greaaaat."

Tori looked between the two girls nervously. There wouldn't be Beck to keep them apart while they were working. This…could be very bad. She jumped up and got her groups attention.

"We should practice at my house every evening."

Jade looked up at her.

"And why do we always have to go to _your_ house? Why are you so special?"

"What, do you want to do it at yours?" Tori asked.

Jade was quiet for a moment.

"Fine. Tori's house it is."

Robbie raised his hand.

"We-We could do it at mine!"

All three girls looked at him.

"Tori's house it is," Jade repeated, looking away from him.

Robbie seemed to deflate slightly. Lacey opened up the script and sighed. It was a romance scene where the male had three girls who were in love with him and were fighting each other about it. In the end, one girl kissed the guy. She looked up at her group members.

"Does…your teacher actually make you do kiss scenes?"

Jade smirked at her evilly.

"Why? Too afraid to kiss someone?"

Lacey made a face at her before batting her eyelashes.

"Would you like me to prove I'm not by kissing you, darling?"

Robbie and Tori seemed to back away from the two slightly as a fire seemed to light between their eyes. Fire of hatred. Jade narrowed her eyes at the girl.

"I don't think Beck would like that."

"Excuses, excuses."

Sikowitz suddenly appeared out of nowhere making the group jump.

"Girls! Please do not squabble in my classroom. If you would like to, save it for later when you two can rip each other's hair out."

He moved away from them and Lacey looked up at Tori who just made a face and shrugged. The two girls stopped arguing long enough for them to figure out parts and get a little practicing in before the bell rang.


	2. Classes

Lacey looked around at lunch time, not sure what to do with herself. Her last class hadn't been with any of her new friends so she didn't know where they were. Outside, there was a huge truck being surrounded by tons of hungry students. The guy in the truck was shouting along with everyone else. This made Lacey kind of glad she'd brought her own lunch. She smiled as she saw a familiar red head come out of the mass of people. The perky girl bounced over to her.

"Hi!" she said before laughing and holding out her lunch toward Lacey," I have a taco!"

Lacey gave her a small smile.

"That's…good…"

The girl giggled and looked over Lacey's shoulder.

"Oh, look! There's Andre, Robbie, and Rex."

She waved at them and Lacey followed the girl to their table.

"Hi, guys," Lacey said, shyly.

The guys smiled at her and Andre patted the seat between him and Robbie as Cat sat across from them.

"'Sup, Lace? Little Red?"

"I have a taco!"

"…Awesome. So, Lacey, how's your classes been so far?"

She smiled at him.

"They've been pretty good so far. I think Sikowitz is my favorite, though. I'll have to get over Jade being in that class though. My English class was interesting, was the film class I had with you guys third period. I actually decided to take a dance class and it was completely fantastic. Beck didn't think I needed it, but I at least need to keep myself in shape."

"That's great," Andre said as the others all appeared.

They all greeted each other as Tori, Jade, and Beck squeezed together at the table. Jade and Lacey didn't even look at each other. Or at least they tried not to. Beck asked Lacey how her day was and she repeated what she'd said earlier. She had the rest of her core subjects and her singing class left for the day. Tori perked upon hearing about that.

"Then you're in me and Robbie's class!" she said, happily.

Lacey smiled. The rest of lunch was fun. It felt good to Lacey that she'd instantly found friends at Hollywood Arts. She had Beck to thank mostly, but they seemed to like her for who she was and not because she was Beck's cousin. Jade was the only exception, but she could deal with it. After lunch, Robbie stopped her as the others got up.

"Hey, you have history now, right?" he asked, hoisting Rex onto his arm from his lap as he got off.

She smiled up at him. She could see that he was rather tall, now that he wasn't sitting anymore.

"Yeah, I do. Are you in my class?"

"I guess so."

Lacey nodded and got up. Robbie nodded his head awkwardly as she got up. Since he waited, she looked at him curiously.

"What's up?"

"Uhm…nothing. I…yeah."

Rex suddenly groaned.

"Just ask her if she wants to walk with you to class!"

"Rex!" Robbie protested.

Though she found the puppet pretty creepy, she couldn't help but smile. He looked at her sheepishly.

"Uhm…"

"Robbie, would you like to walk with me to class?" she asked.

His face broke into a cute smile as he nodded. Rex seemed to shake his head before the two walked to class. Robbie told her what they'd covered in the class so far. She was surprised that after her and Robbie's history class, she had Robbie and Tori in her last two classes, not just the one singing class. At the end of the day, she followed Tori to her locker.

"Hey, Tori, I need your address for our group meeting tonight."

"Oh, right!"

Tori was about to take a pen and paper out of her locker when Robbie popped out of nowhere.

"I-if you want I can pick you up from your house and bring you there. I have a car!"

The two girls blinked at him. Lacey awkwardly tugged on her backpack straps, tightening them.

"Uhm, technically, I live in a trailer. I live with Beck. Honestly…I don't feel comfortable having someone a just met dropping me off…"

Robbie's face fell as Rex laughed.

"Hehe, you go rejected, fool."

"Shut up, Rex," Tori told the dummy.

Lacey looked between the three of them. It was so strange. She sighed and leaned against the lockers.

"I have a car, so it is really no big deal. It was really nice of you to offer, though. Maybe I'll take you up on that offer another time?"

Robbie stepped forward, making her press herself against the lockers in surprise.

"Promise?"

"Uh…yeah?"

"Yeah, baby!"

He dashed out of the building, leaving the two girls staring after him. Lacey looked over at Tori.

"That boy is…odd."

"Robbie is a little…special. He's had Rex for…like ever."

Lacey thought for a moment.

"Is he bi-polar?"

"No, I think Rex just says what Robbie is too afraid to say himself."

She shook her head and stood up straight.

"That isn't healthy for a sixteen year old."

"No, it really isn't. Be careful about being too nice to him. He tends to fall for any girl who is nice to him. Girls don't typically date him."

Lacey made a sad face at her.

"That's sad. Poor guy."

Tori shook her head.

"I don't blame the girls."

The two laughed before Lacey told her good-bye. Beck was waiting for his cousin by his car, but Robbie suddenly stopped her.

"Hey, Lacey, Baby!" Rex said.

She blinked at the puppet before answering.

"Yes….Rex…"

"You, me, date, tomorrow night."

Lacey sighed.

"I'm sorry, but I don't like…"

She knew Robbie and Rex would protest if she called him a puppet or a dummy.

"…short guys."

Rex gaped at her for a moment. Robbie looked down at his friend with a sympathetic look.

"That's…that's so…" Rex stuttered.

"Sorry."

She waved to the boy and his puppet and ran over to Beck. She pushed him to the driver's seat.

"Get me out of here!"

"What's up?" Beck asked, confused.

"Rex just asked me out and I said I don't like short guys."

Beck laughed, but got into the car and started it as Lacey ran around and jumped in the passenger seat.

"If you married a guy shorter than you, your kids would be midgets."

"Shut up and drive, smart mouth."


	3. Skit Kiss

Author's Note: I'm going to continue the story in Lacey's POV because I think it is more fun this way. Sorry about the sudden change, but let's do it!

I got to Tori's house that night at six. Stepping out of my car, I was stunned to see that the house was huge. I stared in awe, trying to take in the whole house.

"Jeez," was all I could say as I locked her car and headed for the front door.

Ringing the doorbell, my face fell into a scowl as Jade opened the door, smiling evilly at me.

"Welcome to Tori's home."

"Ugh."

I brushed past her and spotted Tori giving Jade an annoyed luck while holding a glass of lemonade. Robbie sat on the couch munching on popcorn.

"Who told you to open my door?" she asked before smiling at me," Hey! You're here! We can get started."

Jade slammed the door shut as I looked around. The red couch Robbie sat on came in two pieces and was curved. The kitchen was open to the living room which had a rise, almost like a stage. A piano sat in the empty space on the rise and then the stairs went up to the left.

"You're house is so beautiful," I breathed to the girl honestly.

"Awww, you're sweet. Alright, let's get started!"

Jade plopped down onto the couch and instantly cross her arms and legs. I sat down next to Robbie, which was the farthest place from Trina. It backfired slightly as Robbie smiled and scooted a little closer to me.

"Hi, Lacey," he said, shyly.

I looked around but didn't see his puppet anywhere.

"Hey. Rex at home?"

"Yupperooni. Said he was taking a bubble bath instead of watching me fail my assignment."

I frowned but shook my head as Tori sat down next to Jade and pulled out her script.

"Okay, so like we decided earlier, I'm the hairdresser from New Jersey who starts the fight over Robbie's character the rich CEO. Jade, you're-"

"I know who I am."

Tori went silent as we all looked at her. I picked up my script and looked at the list of characters.

"You're the stuck-up, rich girl who wants to marry the CEO for his money," I picked up for Tori.

Jade narrowed her eyes at me.

"You've always wanted to call me stuck-up, haven't you?"

"I say it all the time."

"You little-"

"AND Lacey is the sweet waitress that works at the CEO's favorite diner."

Robbie flipped through his script before smacking it on his knee.

"How come I couldn't play a girl part? It'd be more of an acting challenge."

We were quiet before Jade sneered at him.

"Some people already question your gender. Would you like to confirm yourself as a woman, because I'll definitely trade parts with you."

Robbie seemed to recoil from Jade, so I cleared my throat to get her attention.

"What parts?" I interjected suggestively.

Tori hid the smile on her face while Jade growled at me. I looked over at Robbie who gave me a weak smile. He was obviously afraid of Jade. I stood up and went onto the higher part of Tori's living room.

"Let's get this practice under way, shaaaaaaaaaall we?"

Robbie and Tori jumped up and joined me instantly while Jade rose off the couch slowly. As she got on the stage she pushed Robbie over toward me.

"That eager to get to your kiss scene?"

I felt myself go red in the face and saw that Robbie did the same.

"That…that doesn't have to be practiced."

"Of course it does. You probably need all the practice you can get."

"I kiss fine, thank you."

"Prove it."

"I don't need to prove anything to you."

"OKAY!" Tori shouted," Please, let's just bicker through our scripts, hm?"

Jade and I sighed, but went silent. Robbie moved over to stage left.

"So I start from over here…this is the diner and…"

The practice lasted for a couple hours, but we made a lot of progress. A week went by and we were pretty confident in our script, despite the fact Jade and I fought each and every time we got near one another. On presentation day, went second. I felt a little nervous. Robbie and I had never practiced the kiss, which was what I'd wanted. It wasn't that I disliked Robbie. He'd proven himself to be a good friend, albeit a bit insecure and a bit of a jellyfish. I actually really liked him. In my heart, maybe I was a little afraid that Jade was right. What if I was a bad kisser? I'd kissed half a dozen guys in my life for random reasons, but that didn't mean I was good. I had just assumed that I was fine since they had never said otherwise. I swallowed my nerves as Robbie began the scene. I stood by a table we'd placed on the stage, pretending to write on a notepad. I smiled as Robbie walked in.

"James, I'll get your order-"

Robbie grabbed my shoulders and looked me right in the eyes. I put on a startled face.

"J-James?"

"Abby, I have something to tell you. I have to be honest with you. The reason I've come in here every day, despite the amount of money I have is because from the moment I saw-"

"JAMES!"

The two of us turned to see Tori saunter onto the stage with her hand on her hip. She'd popped a gum into her mouth to help her feel her part better.

"Oh my gaawwwd. I can't _believe_ you eat at a place like this. Who is this? You're holding onto her rather- HUH! Are you _cheating on me_?"

The class smirked at Tori's fake Jersey accent. Robbie looked at her in frustration.

"Paula, we're not together. We never were."

Tori wrapped her hands around Robbie's upper arm and tugged him toward her and away from me.

"Aw, don't day that, Jamesy!"

"Don't call me that!"

"James!"

Jade strutted onto the stage and pushed past me while pulling Robbie forcibly away from Tori.

"What are you doing in a dump like this with…these…women? Come on now. Let's go find a _real_ restaurant and plan our wedding."

Robbie pulled away from her.

"There is no wedding! How many times do I have to tell the two of you? I'm not interested in either of you. All you care about is my money and I can't stand that. Can either of you name one thing you like about my personality?"

Tori and Jade gaped at him, but were quiet. I put my hand on Robbie's arm and he turned to me.

"You're kind, you're funny, and you're so smart. You've always smiled at me, even when I got your order wrong the first time you came here. You never flaunted your money and you would always make me smile every time you came in here. It meant so much to me the time you helped me pass my college exams. You're…a really good person, James."

Robbie smiled at me and took my hand.

"Thank you, Abby."

I lifted my hand up and placed it on Robbie's cheek. My face got a little pink, since I knew what was coming. The class had gone quiet.

"James…I…love you."

Robbie smiled.

"I love you, too, Abby. That is exactly what I wanted to tell you."

I couldn't reach all the way up to Robbie, so he leaned down slightly as I pressed my lips to his. I saw Robbie's eyes close before mine did the same. His lips were softer than I'd expected for a guy, but it wasn't unpleasant. It was actually kind of nice and it was innocent. I felt Robbie step a little closer to me, his hand on my back as we kissed. I could hear Jade and Tori stomping off the stage. As their footsteps stopped, I pulled away from Robbie who was in a bit of a trance. I giggled slightly as there was silence. Robbie was supposed to end the skit. I cleared my throat and he seemed to remember that fact.

"Abby, marry me."

I nodded before we put our heads down for a moment before turning to our audience.

"End scene," Tori said for all of us.

The class clapped enthusiastically as Sikowitz hopped onto the stage.

"Well done and a congratulations to our newest student on her first skit achievement!"

I smiled as everyone continued to clap was we sat down. Robbie seemed a bit out of it as he went back to his seat and actually sat on Rex. The puppet didn't even protest, which obviously meant that Robbie was pretty out of it. He got up again and put Rex on his lap. As the presentations went on, I embarrassingly feel his eyes on me. After class, I was walking out with Beck, who was teasing me about having such a good kiss with Robbie, when I noticed Robbie following me to my locker. I waved to Beck as he continued on to class. I opened up my locker as Robbie reached me.

"Would this mean we're an item?"

I turned and frowned at him.

"Excuse me?"

"I mean…that kiss. It was so…real."

"Well, technically…nevermind. Robbie, please don't misunderstand what I'm about to say. You're…a really nice guy, but that kiss was acting. _We_ were acting. Just because you kiss a girl, it doesn't instantly make you an item."

Robbie sighed and Rex laughed at him.

"I told you!"

I sighed at the puppet as Robbie rest his head against the locker next to mine.

"I know. I was just hoping…"

I smiled and put a hand on his cheek.

"Sorry, Robbie. Besides, I can't just date a guy I've known for a week. It just…it's just too fast, you know?"

Robbie seemed so distracted by my touching him that I retracted my hand. He looked at me seriously.

"Then…how long do you wait? Just…out of curiousity."

I thought about it for a moment.

"I guess…two to three months. I don't know."

"That's around…Spring Break…?"

I counted the months in my mind. It was late January so around Spring Break was about right. I shrugged and shut my locker. I still had yet to decorate it. I planned on doing it tomorrow during lunch.

"That's about right. Can we be friends, Robbie? I really need as many as I can get being at a new school."

Robbie gave me a sad look, but it changed as he smiled and shrugged.

"Sure."

I grinned.

"Great! Thanks, Robbie!"

I gave him a hug, keeping Rex out of it. Robbie dropped Rex in surprise and hugged me back.

"Hey! Rob? Hey! Get me off the floor!"

He jumped away from the hug and quickly picked Rex off the floor.

"Oops, sorry!" he apologized.

I laughed and looked at my locker.

"Hey, how did you decorate your locker?" I asked, suddenly.

Robbie looked over my shoulder.

"Oh, here."

I followed him over to another set of lockers and he pointed to one that was covered in baby bottle nipples. My eyes widened in concern as I looked at his smiling face. I did not want to ask why.

"I see. That's…unique."

"Thanks."

The warning bell rang, so the two of us parted to get to our next classes after a quick good-bye.


	4. Locker Fun

"Uhhhhn! Too…high…Reach, Lacey, reach!"

I was stretching myself as far up as I could to reach the top of my locker. It was after school and I was covering my locker in stick-on jewels. The colors at the bottom right started off black and got increasingly lighter until white was in the top corner. I had at least half a rainbow done in the middle of the locker, but I was having an increasingly hard time putting up the lighter jewels. I was glad that the hallways were deserted except for a few people who barely paid attention to me. I'd driven myself to school that day so that Beck could hang out with Jade after school. Even though I could barely stand his girlfriend, I was actually the most tolerate person in our family about their relationship. I stood on my tip-toes and sighed with satisfaction as I placed the jewel on.

"Lacey?"

I turned to see Robbie. He looked a little disheveled while Rex was completely drenched. I raised my eyebrows.

"What happened?" I asked.

I guess I'd lightened up on the whole Rex thing. If it made the guy feel more comfortable, far be it for me to hate on his puppet. He stopped beside me and Rex rubbed at his hair.

"Someone kidnapped Rex from me while I was in the bathroom and I found him dumped in a toilet. It took me forever to find him since the bathroom he was in was across the school. I missed the bus home, too."

I wrinkled my nose. Beck had mentioned that people played pranks like that on Robbie sometimes.

"That's so mean."

Rex nodded.

"Yeah, imagine how I felt! They flushed."

"Aw."

I took a hand towel out of my backpack that I'd brought to clean my face with after dance classes. I rubbed Rex down a bit with it. Robbie smiled before looking up at my locker.

"Decorating your locker finally?"

I nodded, rubbing Rex's hair vigorously. His voice shook as I rubbed his head, which made me giggle.

"Yeah, I decided that I'm a pretty unique person and I like unique people and things. So, a rainbow collage that changes colors as it goes across the locker seemed to fit."

"Nice."

"Thanks. I'm just having issues reaching the top."

I finished drying Rex off and put the towel back in my bag. I reached up as far as I could on the locker, which was right where the last jewel had been stuck. Robbie reached up and put his hand as high as it would go. He barely had to lean onto his toes to reach the top. I gave him a playful push.

"Show-off."

He grinned.

"Want some help?"

I thought about it for a minute.

"But I thought I was supposed to do it…"

"I'll…lift you up!"

I blinked at him, unsure.

"Can you even lift me?"

Rex laughed.

"Robbie? Lift anything heavier than me and a backpack? Ha ha!"

"Hey!" Robbie protested.

He put down the puppet and held his arms out to me. I was still not sure about it.

"Robbie, I don't know…"

"Never know till you try, right?"

I sighed but moved closer to him so he could pick me up. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me a few feet off the ground. But he couldn't hold it for long. He put me down with a sigh. I was pretty light, too. I patted his shoulder.

"It's okay, Robbie. Thanks for offering."

He looked so disappointed that I felt kind of bad for the guy. I rubbed my shoulder in thought before sighing.

"Alright, Robbie. Come here."

I took his shoulders and moved him in front of me, with his back to the locker. I stuck the jewels I'd need into my jacket pocket and looked up at him.

"All I'll need you to do it no freak out and to make sure I don't fall backward."

"Huh?"

"Lift me up."

He did as I said. I jumped up a bit at the same time he lifted me. This gave me enough force to wrap my legs around his waist. His hands let go of my waist in shock and I leaned forward as he began falling backward, my palms slamming into the lockers to make sure I didn't smack my head on them.

"Lacey?"

"I have super leg strength from dancing, so this doesn't bother me. Your hips are kind of bony so it's easy to keep me up here. All you need to do his hold my back and keep me up."

Rex whistled from his spot on the floor and I looked down to see Robbie's face was bright red as he wrapped his arms around my back. I giggled at him and decorated my locker as fast as I could. When I was done, I slid my legs off Robbie's waist, slid down to the floor, and I was once again shorter than him.

"Thanks, Robbie," I told him, picking up my backpack and looking over my locker with approval," I think it looks pretty good."

I looked over at my friend to see that he his face was still pink as he picked Rex up from the ground. He went over to me and looked at it.

"It's cool."

"Yeah, it's shiny!" Rex added.

Robbie looked down at me.

"Hey, I was thinking…do you want to go to baby golf? Me and Cat are going tonight. Would you like to join us?"

I smiled.

"Sure. I have nothing better to do after my homework. Hey, Robbie…just out of curiosity…how come you don't drive to school?"

He shook his head as if a sad memory sat there.

"My car was stolen here once. Some robbers jumped the fence of the school and took off in my car."

This boy had _super_ bad luck. I pulled my keys out of my bag.

"How about this? I'll give you a lift home _and _I'll drive to baby golf instead of having to go all the way back to my house."

Rex and Robbie both agreed and we went out to my red 2001 Ford Mustang. Rex whistled.

"Daaang, that is a pretty car. You take care of this thing."

"You bet. It's my baby. Drove all the way from Canada to here in this thing when I moved."

We got into the car and as I started it, Robbie felt the seats. As I backed out, Robbie looked over at me.

"I…was just wondering why you moved to California without your parents."

I smiled. I'd been surprised no one had asked me sooner. I guess now it showed that Robbie was a good enough friend now to care about that type of thing.

"Well, my parents wanted me to have a chance at doing things that I love and all of those things are found at Hollywood Arts. They talked it over for a long time, but…Beck and I have been really close since we were little so it was no big deal. I'm an only child, so I'd get things I want like that."

Robbie nodded. We made small talk for most of the ride as Robbie and Rex gave me directions every now and then. Reaching his house, I found it to be nice. It was pretty normal. After getting out of the car, I followed Robbie into his house. No one else was home, but I could tell there were a few people in his family.

"Siblings?"

"A sister."

"Ah."

He grabbed my wrist and led me into the living room. The color scheme was mostly brown and beige. I was placed on the couch and Robbie and Rex sat beside me.

"Cat said she'd be getting here around six. What do you want to do till then?"

I looked at my watch. That was in an hour and thirty minutes.

"Uhm, what is there to do?"

"We could make-out," Rex suggested.

"Rex!"

"Ew…"

Rex scoffed.

"Oh, right, you don't like short guys. Heh, not that you'll make out with Robbie even though he's taller than you. I don't feel so bad."

Robbie glared at his puppet.

"Don't insult me! Girls kiss me."

Rex laughed.

"Yeah, because they _have _to. Or are making a point."

"Oh, yeah? And how about when Tori kissed you?"

"She secretly wants me!"

I sighed and let the two bicker for awhile. After about five minutes, I put a hand on Robbie's mouth and both him and Rex shut up. The silence was beautiful. Removing my hand, I took Rex from Robbie and put him out in the hallway on the floor before coming back into the living room.

"So, what do you do for fun?" I asked, sitting down beside him.

"Why did you-?"

"Because I want to talk to _you_, Robbie. Without you getting into arguments with Rex."

He looked a little put out, but he looked at his hands.

"Well…I'm pretty good with computers. I like to play the guitar and the harmonica."

I was somewhat surprised.

"Really. Are you good?"

Robbie thought for a moment. He put a finger up, telling me to wait. He disappeared for a couple minutes and came back with his PearPad. He tapped it a few times and put it on my lap.

"I made this video once. It's a song I came up with called "Broken Glass"."

He started the video. By the end I was both disturbed and amused. I looked up at Robbie who grinned.

"What'd you think?"

"That's…really dark. Did Jade help you with that one?"

"No…"

"Huh, well, for a very morbid song…sorta…it was very entertaining and the tune was catchy. You're really good with those instruments."

Robbie beamed.

"And my singing?"

I bit my bottom lip.

"Ehh…"

Robbie looked down and turned off his PearPad.

"Yeah…I get it."

After placing it on the table, he leaned back and looked at me. I wrinkled my forehead and stared at his face. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Whatcha doin'?"

"Are you wearing make-up?" I asked, skeptically.

He smiled.

"Yeah! It's male make-up. Great, isn't it?"

I shook my head in disbelief.

"_Why_?"

"I hate it when my face looks splotchy."

I raised my eyebrows. To each his own?

"Your mom buys this for you?"

"Oh, no, I use my bar mitzvah money. I'm…Jewish if you didn't know."

I smiled.

"Yeah? Me, too."

He was astonished.

"_Really_?"

"Yeah, from my dad's side. My mom isn't, but she let me be a daddy's girl."

Robbie nodded in understanding. He seemed thrilled that I was Jewish. I thought for a moment.

"Hey, Robbie?"

"Yeah?"

"Teach me how to play the guitar?"

"Sure."

I tried out the guitar until Cat arrived. We had fun, just the three of us, at baby golf. Robbie was pretty good, but Cat was better. I was pretty shoddy at it, but they were really supportive about it. It turned out to be one of my favorite days since moving.


	5. A Chance

I sighed as I tugged at Cat's hair. Her stunningly bright hair was perfect except for one thing.

"How did this happen?" Tori asked, sitting beside me on the same stair in the lobby of Hollywood Arts.

Cat sat a step below us, sobbing slightly. I tried tugging at her hair with a comb, but the pink bubblegum was stuck fast. And it was disgustingly gooey. It was lunch time when Cat had come running to the table in tears.

"Sinjin accidentally got the gum he made in my hair. He'd taken out of his mouth and I ran into him."

I frowned at the stupid piece of gum.

"You might need to cut your hair," I mumbled, pulling off a strand of gum.

The thought of Sinjin spit on the gum made me shudder. Cat squeaked sadly. Tori put a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"I'll go with you to the hair dresser."

Cat smiled up at her.

"Thanks, Tori. You're so nice."

Tori smiled back before looking over at me.

"Come with?"

I shook my head.

"I would, but Robbie and I have an awkward project to work on for our history class."

Cat and Tori looked up at me in confusion. I put down the comb.

"It's awkward because it's about courtship and marriage from the 1500's to the 1800's. I said I'd be his partner, but I wanted to kill him when he picked that topic out of the pat the teacher had on her desk. I totally wanted farming and frequency of slaves. That has so much information that the presentation would be easy, but this one…I don't know how to even begin a presentation. It'll just be a boring presentation."

Tori laughed.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out. C'mon, lunch is going to end soon so let's get ready for class.

As I heaved myself up, I smiled as Tori and Cat disappeared around the corner. After being at Hollywood Arts for a month and a half, I knew that my friends were the best people in the world. My friends weren't normal, though Tori, Andre, and Beck came close, but I was completely okay with that. I loved how random Cat was and even Robbie's oddities made him who he was. He was still a great guy. I spent most of my time with Tori, Robbie, or Cat and I could honestly say that they were my best friends, not counting Beck of course because he's my best cousin. When the bell rang, I plopped down into my seat in our history class. After the teacher announced a work day for our presentations, Robbie and Rex came over to my desk.

"You're coming over to my house today, right?" Robbie asked, sitting in an empty desk chair.

I yawned and put my head on my desk.

"Yeah. Do you need a ride?"

"That'd be great. Hey, did you get the gum out of Cat's hair."

"Uh-uh."

"Oh, poor Cat."

We got to Robbie's house around 3:15 and once again his family was out. As I followed Robbie to his room, I looked at the pictures on the walls.

"Are they ever home?" I asked.

I'd been over to his house quite a few times, but every time they weren't usually there until late. I'd met his family, but maybe on only two occasions. Robbie shrugged as he opened his bedroom door.

"My mom will be home in an hour or so, I think."

Going inside, I was surprised that Robbie's room looked moderately normal. The walls were a nice blue and were covered in pictures and posters. There were two gigantic chess pieces on the right side of his bed, which was technically your left when you walked into the room. He had a nightstand and a mini fridge beside his bed. He had an ugly cotton blanket on his bed that was orange, blue, grey, and brown and was striped. I figured I didn't like it because I hate the color orange. I noticed on the left side of the room just next to the door was a huge abacus. The kid liked giant things…I guess his room wasn't as normal as I'd first thought.

"Nice room," I told him as he moved over to put his backpack on his desk.

"Thanks, you can just sit on the bed. Sorry I don't have chairs or anything. People don't usually visit my room for extensive amounts of time."

That statement made me wonder to myself, but I sat down on his bed near the little fridge. As he got out the assignment and got his laptop, I waited patiently. I began to adjust to his room. It fit Robbie's personality and it wasn't exceptionally freakish.

"Hey, Robbie, why do you have a mini fridge?"

"To keep things I need."

It was an evasive question, so I opened the fridge and peeked in. Closing it, I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You're storing only a jar of mayonnaise in there."

Robbie looked at me.

"I like mayonnaise."

I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing. I lay across the width of his bed. I heard Rex laugh.

"Hey, Robbie. You actually have a girl in your bed. I bet it'll be the first and last time."

Robbie glared at the puppet. I looked over at the two of them and sighed.

"Rex, I'm going to have to request that you leave the room while we do our project. The last thing we need is a distraction."

Rex laughed.

"Do I distract you, baby?"

"That's it," Robbie said to him.

He left the room for a minute before coming back. I rolled onto my stomach.

"What'd you do with him?"

"I put him in the spare room. He likes hanging out in there, actually. Says it's a good break from me."

I shook my head.

"I don't know why you let him be so mean to you."

"He's really my best friend. I know he cares."

I couldn't help but give the guy a sympathetic look. I really didn't know what to say to him sometimes. He put his laptop on the bed and sat down. I sat up and pulled the assignment out of my bag.

"So, we should start with the 1500's."

"Okay."

Robbie typed something into his computer. As he did, he glanced at me.

"So, how do we want to present the information? I know we said PowerPoint, but can't we make it a bit more entertaining?"

"Like how?"

He thought for a minute.

"How about we act it out?"

"And what? Change outfits every few minutes to fit the century?"

"No, like…"

He turned beet red. I didn't understand what he was getting at.

"Robbie?"

"Like…courtship stuff. And like…the types of displays of affection."

"But there aren't that many. Here, let me see your laptop."

Taking it I looked at the information for the 1500's. I grinned as I read one.

"Sure, how about this "Renaissance betrothal ceremonies were binding while the marriages were just for show, mostly. Having sex before the marriage constituted a union, making marriage unnecessary", so…Are you saying we should have sex in front of the class?"

Robbie looked up at me and stuttered.

"N-No! I guess-I…that idea was dumb."

I laughed. I rubbed his curly head.

"There, there. Hey! Your hair is softer than it looks!"

I used both hands to play with his hair. He swatted my hands away.

"Hey! Come on, you're messing it up!"

"It was messy already!"

I laughed until I noticed Robbie looked at me strangely.

"What's up?"

"Would you ever kiss me again?"

I instantly stopped laughing or smiling.

"What do you mean?"

"From that time…have you ever even thought about it? Was I a…bad kisser or something?"

I gaped at him. I didn't know what to say. I hadn't really thought about it and there was nothing wrong with the kiss. I'd just discarded the thought because I didn't want to get into a relationship so soon.

"No, Robbie. You weren't bad or anything, I just…I had to break up with my last boyfriend to move here and I felt it would be too soon. He and I were drifting apart so the break-up wasn't so hard, but I didn't want to just jump into something so soon."

Robbie nodded, sadly.

"Oh. I get it. I'm sorry…I just…no girl has ever kissed me twice. See, girls usually kiss me because it's a direction in a scene and well; Cat kissed me once because she was proving that girls can fake passionate kisses. So…just to be honest, I've never been kissed by a girl who actually likes me."

I pat his shoulder sympathetically.

"Sorry, Robbie. You know, some guys would just be happy that they've been kissed in the first place."

Robbie gave me a small smile.

"I guess you're right…"

I nodded and was about to go back to our assignment when Robbie gave me a heart attack as he leaned forward.

"Will you kiss me?"

"Robbie!"

"_Please_? Then I won't feel so bad that a girl hasn't kissed me twice. You will have!"

"Robbie, I don't think that's a good idea. You don't even like me."

"Of course I do!"

"Huh?"

"Well, I have since the first time you really talked to me."

I didn't understand how you could fall for someone that way. Oh my gosh, they're so nice, I love them! I thought for a moment. I wasn't sure how to approach this the right way.

"I don't know what to-"

Robbie put up a hand and stopped me there.

"You don't have to say anything. I get it."

The look on his face made me feel really bad.

"You're my best friend, Robbie, I can't just…make myself like you as more. Maybe…maybe in time. Can you give me that?"

He stared at me in surprise.

"Really? How…how about a date?"

"Did you not just-"

"Well, I mean…that way you can know if you really can like me or not."

I sighed.

"Robbie-"

I couldn't vocally protest as Robbie's lips crashed into mine. His hand went to my cheek as I stared at his closed eyes in shock. I could feel it. I could feel that Robbie wanted to kiss me and wanted me to kiss him. It was similar to how I'd felt when I'd dated my last boyfriend. But when that feeling left, I'd still held on. And then I'd moved, and I felt free. To be honest, I was afraid that would happen with every guy I'd be with. But feeling that Robbie wanted this, more than I did, made me feel affection for him that was a little bit more than a friend. I wasn't ready to go steady with anyone. But I couldn't stop myself from kissing him back, my eyes closing. I let my mind drift away from protesting and our history presentation as I placed a hand on his chest. Robbie stared at me after we'd parted.

"That was…awesome."

He pulled me into a hug and I just let my head rest on his shoulder.

"One date. If things don't work out, then friends…until I'm really ready to date. I'm only giving you a chance because you've been hiding this for a month."

Robbie's face broke into the cutest smile I'd ever seen him give me or anyone else since I'd come to Hollywood Arts.

"How's Friday night? Since we'll be done with our presentation by then?"

I smiled.

"Sure."

I caught Robbie trying to lean in to kiss me again, but I put a hand to his mouth.

"No, no."

"Dang it…"


	6. Bad Date

It was Friday evening when Beck came back to find me fixing my hair for my date with Robbie. He smiled as he collapsed onto his bed.

"Well don't you look spiffy? Where are you going?"

I straightened out my skirt and fixed by top. It was my favorite teal top that was sleeveless on the left arm, but the right arm had what Beck had called a wing the first time he'd ever seen in. I wore converses I'd bought to match the top. Looking in the mirror, I could only laugh. I had Beck's hair…except with colors and on a prettier and more feminine face. I turned around and picked up my key to the trailer.

"I…told Robbie I'd go on a date with him."

Beck raised an eyebrow, but smiled at me encouragingly.

"That's cool. Robbie's a good guy."

I sat on his bed next to him with a sigh.

"Beck, I don't know if I really want to do this. I'm nervous and I'm not ready to date again just yet. But Robbie was just so eager and I felt bad. I mean, I didn't want to turn him down because I kind of like him and I didn't want him to stop liking me because I didn't want to date right now. Oh my gosh, am I making a huge mistake?"

Beck sat up and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Lacey, relax. It is just one little date. No big thing, okay? If you don't have fun or you're not feeling comfortable enough, you just tell Robbie the truth and don't go on another date with him until you're willing to try again. It's just that simple."

I gave him a hug and got up.

"Thanks, Beck. I'll see you later. Robbie's gonna be here soon."

He gave me a wave as I left. At that moment a received a text from Robbie, saying he was here and I saw his car pull into the driveway. Seeing his car made me smile. The poor thing was trying to be red, but the pain job was so worn that it looked pink. I stopped smiling as I spotted Rex lounging in the passenger seat with a seatbelt on. Why, why, _why_ had he brought a puppet on a date? It hadn't even occurred to me that he would do such a thing, but now that I saw it…it just seemed so…_Robbie_. I let myself into the backseat already feeling a bit grumpy. Robbie turned around and smiled at me.

"Hey. Are you ready?"

"I sure hope so…"

"Great. We're going baby golfing!"

"With Rex?" I asked, skeptically.

"Yeah, I wanted to try it out for awhile now," Rex told me.

I wanted to lean forward and flick Robbie in the back of his head, but I also wanted to put down my window and throw Rex out of it. I did neither as Robbie backed his car out of the driveway. It took us no time at all to get to the baby golf place. We got out of the car and I was actually surprised when Robbie paid for us to play. Though, Rex and the person in the booth got into an argument about how puppets didn't need to pay to play. In the end, the person gave up and let Robbie have an extra ball and club for half price. Baby golf was basically mini-golf under a different name. As we played, I began to think Robbie brought Rex to be worse than I was because he was great and I sucked just like the time before. There were just some things I could not do. Baby golf was one of them. By the time we reached the ninth hole, Robbie was feeling really bad for me as Rex started to improve his game. As I tried to line up my club to hit the ball in the hole, I jumped as Robbie went up behind me and fixed my hands. Glancing over, I saw Rex sitting on a fake rock on the side of the area. I looked up and saw Robbie smiling at me.

"You have to line it up _this _way," he told me, fixing the club," It's a bit of geometry."

I scoffed.

"Yay, math…"

I heard sniffing and looked up to give Robbie a weird look.

"Please tell me you're not turning into Sinjin."

Robbie blushed and shook his head.

"No, no. I just…your hair smelled nice. Like a waterfall."

I smiled.

"What exactly do waterfalls smell like?"

"Uh…fresh?"

I let Robbie help me tap the ball and it went into the hole easily. I gaped at it before turning and hugging Robbie.

"Yay! It went in."

"Yeah, it did!"

I let him go and he went over and got Rex. I'd been secretly hoping he'd forget the puppet, but no such luck. I guess I got better as Robbie didn't have to help me every single time after that. Of course Robbie won with no mercy, but I came in second…which in my book was still last. Not only that, but Rex had "accidentally" let of his club at the seventeenth hole and nailed me in the ankle. That hurt pretty bad. After the game, Robbie and helped me to the car before buying a cold water bottle for me to put on my ankle. It helped the pain, but not my pride.

"So, where are we going?" I asked as I put my leg up in the backseat.

"It's a surprise," Rex called back.

I made a face. I definitely wanted to hear that from _him_.

"I've had enough "surprises". Like a club to the leg."

"Oh, get over it, sugar cookie."

"Say that again."

"Sugar cookie."

I lunged for the puppet, but Robbie held his arm out, holding me back from the driver's seat.

"No fighting! Rex, don't be rude. She's my date!"

I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the door as Robbie started the car.

"Some date," I mumbled to myself.

Five minutes later we were at a fast food burger place. I'm not high maintenance or anything and I'm a rather cheap date, but this…was not okay. Not for a first date. Not in any way, shape, or form. But did I complain? No. Why? Because Robbie was failing his butt off and nothing was going to save him. As Robbie got out of the car, I dashed around and stood in front of the passenger side door so that he couldn't come around and get his puppet. He stood in front of me in confusion.

"Lacey, we can't leave Rex!"

"Yes we can, he doesn't eat."

"Of course he does!"

"Robbie! He's a puppet!"

"That's offensive!"

I grabbed the front of his shirt and he gulped. I may be short, but I could scare people very easily. He squeaked.

"You look kind of like Jade right now…"

"Yeah, well, I feel like I'm channeling her rage right now. Robbie, leave the puppet or I'm out of here. I've already received a bruise the size of a meatloaf!"

"Meatloaf vary in size…"

"A _large_ one," I said, letting him go," Robbie. Let me be honest with you. I'm not having much fun, okay? The moment you brought Rex…it was pretty much over. Not only that, but you brought us to a place we've been before. Fine, no big deal, but then you hit me-"

"Rex did th-"

"_And_ now we're at a burger joint. Listen, Robbie, if you even liked me at all you would give up on Rex. I can't date a guy who brings a ventriloquist dummy on a date. You're very talented and that is great and I love that, but honestly…"

I sighed and leaned against the car.

"You're not having fun?"

Robbie looked so sad, but I was so angry that I wasn't about to feel bad for him.

"No. I'm not. So, are you going to choose me…or Rex?"

He gaped at me, looking between me and the car window.

"Lacey, I can't just leave Rex-"

"Then this date is over. I can walk home from here."

"Lacey, I'm sorry."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"Are you really? _You _told _me_ you wanted to go on a date. Not the other way around. I thought maybe you'd at least try. Now I know I was right in not wanting to date for awhile. It's too soon for me _and _you. You don't know how to treat a girl, yet. You're one of my best friends so _please_ don't hate me because of this, but I can't date you. I gave you a chance because I _do_ like you, Robbie. I really do, but I draw the line at Rex. I can't date a guy who brings a puppet. I just can't. Maybe I'm not as accepting as I thought, but I can't take it. Using Rex at any other time, fine. Knock yourself out. But if you were dating me, he could not be around when we're together as a couple. Not at all. When I date someone, I want them to tell me how they feel themselves. I don't want to hear it from their outgoing dummy friend. So you know what? _I'm_ sorry."

Robbie stood in front of me in shock. I shook my head and walked over to him. I leaned up and kissed him. He blinked at me in confusion.

"If you ever decide that you can date a girl without Rex being around for the couple stuff, let me know."

My ankle may have hurt, but I still had enough pride left in me to begin walking home. I was stopped as I heard Robbie shout after me.

"I change my mind!"

I grinned and turned back.

"Don't be swayed by a kiss. I'll see you at school, _best friend_."

It took me at least twenty minutes to walk back home, but when I got into the trailer, I pretty much died on the carpet. Beck got up from his bed, where he had been reading a magazine, and sat on the floor beside me.

"Didn't go well?"

"In short? No. He brought Rex, we went to baby golf, got hit on the ankle with a club, got to a burger place, told Robbie off, and walked home."

"Well, busy night."

I covered my face with my hands.

"I feel like a horrible person. I yelled at him to get rid of Rex, his crutch. But it isn't healthy."

My cousin rubbed my shoulder before pulling me off the floor and helping me flop into bed.

"You probably told him what he needed to hear though."

"You think he'll hate me?"

He snorted.

"Jade treats him like dirt and he still talks to and hangs around her."

I shook my head.

"That boy just asks for punishment…"

Beck leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"Hey, things'll work out. If you're meant to be with him, he'll grow a pair and he'll call you back."

I loved my cousin. He was a complete fool, but a very cute and smart fool. And a great friend.

"I love you, Becky, even if you use a line referencing Ke$ha to make me feel better."

"Well, we're even since you had better not call me "Becky" again. And I love you too, Lace."

After going into Beck's parent's house to shower and change, I put myself into bed wishing that I had stuck to my previous plan not to date till around Spring Break. I decided that was what I was going to do. No more exceptions.


	7. Helping Out

Being around Robbie was awkward for at least two weeks afterward. Robbie apparently didn't tell Rex what had been said outside the car so the puppet frequently teased him while I was around. I was pretty confused about that while being severely concerned about the curly haired boy's mental state. Tori had invited us all over for a movie night and I was sitting on the couch between Robbie and Cat while inhaling popcorn and lemonade. Jade and Beck sat on the other couch half with Andre next to Beck. Tori was in the kitchen, but she'd be sitting beside Cat.

"So, Lacey," Andre said, getting my attention," You haven't joined any after school activities. How come?"

I blinked at him.

"You're right. I hadn't really thought about it. I like cheerleading though."

Jade turned and raised an eyebrow at me.

"You? A cheerleader?"

Beck put an arm around his girlfriend.

"She's good at it, actually."

I smiled at my cousin as Jade made a disgusted face. Tori came in and sat down.

"I never imagined you as a cheerleader," she grinned," You seem like someone who would be cynical toward that type of activity."

I laughed and drank some of my lemonade.

"I'm just full of surprises."

Jade snorted.

"What? Like with the movie you brought us? Adventures in the Unicorn Forest? Isn't that movie for children?"

"I love that movie!" Cat exclaimed," It's by brother's favorite. We bought it for him after he snuck into the movie five times and got caught each time. They found him handcuffing people to their chairs."

I put a hand on the red headed girl's shoulder.

"I don't know if I actually want to meet your brother or not. He seems…interesting."

She giggled and stuck her hand in the bowl of popcorn.

"I think you'll make a great cheerleader," Robbie smiled at me.

"Thanks, Rob."

"Movie time!" Andre announced, popping it into the DVD player.

The movie was only ninety minutes long, but by the end Robbie was sniffling on my shoulder. As Andre turned the movie off, everyone was staring at him strangely. I pat his head awkwardly.

"There, there?"

"Robbie," Beck said, concerned," Why are you crying?"

Robbie sniffled and looked up at all of us. His glasses moved up as he brushed his tears away with his finger.

"It's just so sweet how the unicorn made friends with the other animals. Especially the squirrel who couldn't stop hording nuts, even when he didn't remember where he put them."

Tori laughed.

"Squirrels actually do that…"

"Yeah, but…the unicorn was so accepting! It was so…so…"

His tears started up and he buried his head in my lap this time. I raised my arms up in surprise before lowering them with a sigh. This kid was special. But it was cute in a way. I looked around at the others and shook my head.

"I'll drive him home, don't worry."

I shook him and he looked up at me.

"C'mon, Mr. Sensitive, let's get you home."

He continued to quietly sob as I helped him off the couch. Beck volunteered to return the movie on his way back home after dropping Jade off. Once that was decided, I ushered Robbie out of the house after we bid everyone goodnight. After getting him settled into the passenger seat of my car, I walked around and got into the driver's seat. After turning the car on, I looked over at Robbie.

"You doing okay, Robbie?"

He rubbed at his red eyes and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just…got to me."

I sighed, thinking to myself as I moved the car out of its parking spot. I couldn't help feeling as if Robbie was commenting on our almost relationship. It was possible that I was reading into his thoughts too deeply or I was completely full of myself by thinking he would care that much about my telling him I wouldn't date him if he brought Rex along. It was probably my guilt making me think that.

"Robbie," I commented slowly as I drove along," Are you…still upset about…?"

Out of the corner of my eye I could tell he looked at me.

"No, I understand what you were saying. You're right. It isn't fair for a girl to date a guy who can't go on a date by himself."

I knew that was the best I was going to get out of Robbie as far as his understanding the situation.

"Okay, great."

The car was silent for a moment before Robbie turned to me again.

"Can I ask you a favor?"

"What's that?"

"Well, if you're free this Thursday…I was wondering if you would go with me to my Mamaw's house?"

"Your "Mamaw"?"

"My grandmother on my dad's side. She figured out that the internet wasn't cancelled…_anymore_. And my family is having dinner over there that night."

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at the road. I wondered how many strange things I missed in my years not spent at Hollywood Arts. As I stopped at a red light, I looked over at my friend.

"And you want me to go…why?"

"Because my grandmother…well…she keeps pushing girls at me and I hate that. I think if I bring you…"

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"You can't be _serious_."

"She'll like you! She's really judgmental, but you're great and-"

"And what about bringing Cat or Tori?"

"She met Cat and hated her and Tori would never agree to that."

As the light turned green, we continued on and I sighed.

"Why did she dislike Cat?"

Robbie groaned from the passenger seat.

"She didn't like Cat's dyed hair."

I shook my head.

"Dude, I have dyed hair. Hello?"

"Yeah, but it's only a few strands and I told her that Cat wasn't my girlfriend right off the bat. If I introduce you as my girlfriend, she's bound to like you. I really don't want to go alone. Please?"

"Let me think about it."

The rest of the ride was quiet as I thought about what to do. I wanted to help Robbie, because he's my friend, but I didn't want to lie to anyone in his family. When we reached the front of his home, I parked the car and leaned back in my seat.

"You're family knows we aren't dating."

Robbie shrugged at me.

"We can convince them. Come over on Tuesday and I'll announce that you're my girlfriend. Then…the day after the dinner I'll tell them you broke up with me. They'll believe that."

I pouted.

"That's so sad."

Robbie shrugged.

"I-I'm pretty used to it by now. Well…getting turned down is common. I've only ever gotten a date a couple times…and, well…you know. But please do this for me? I'll never ask you for a favor ever, ever, ever again."

I laughed lightly.

"I know you'll ask me for favors. But I'll do it. Just _this once_. And then we "break up" the day after. Promise?"

"I promise! Thank you!"

He gave me a huge hug before dashing out of the car. I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel as I watched him go into his home. Why did I agree to lie to his family? That was moralistically wrong in my book. I groaned as I put my car into reverse and backed out of the car. What could I say? The guy was too cute to just say no to all the time.

Author's Note: No, this was not a filler. I know where this story is going, but I felt I needed to cement the feeling that Robbie has of her not truly accepting him even thought he says he understands. Anyway, I'm back at college so story chapters will be coming out with a lot of space in between. Please don't just stop reading! Please wait for the next chapter and review in the mean time because those help push me to write. Thank you!


	8. Cheerleader

It was Tuesday when I happily pranced over to my friends during lunch and stopped by the table they were all sitting at. I spun around at the smiles on their faces.

"Weeeeell? What do you think?"

Beck got up and pulled me into hug.

"You made it! I'm so proud of you."

I giggled as he kissed my forehead before letting me go. I was now sporting the Hollywood Arts new cheerleading outfit. The black and white outfit with its red "HA" logo had been made more attractive with a form fitting top that didn't cover the midriff. Robbie came over and gave me a hug next.

"I can see your belly button," he teased, poking my stomach.

I smiled and playfully swatted at his hand before sitting down between the two boys as the others congratulated me. Of course Jade just rolled her eyes and continued eating her lunch, ignoring my most recent achievement. Robbie handed me a burrito.

"I got you lunch," he smiled.

"Thanks, Robbie! You didn't have to."

He blushed as Rex looked up at me.

"It was my idea."

"I see…"

"It was not!" Robbie protested.

"That uniform looks really good on you," Tori told me, ignoring the boy and his puppet.

The others, minus Jade, murmured in agreement making me blush.

"Aww, you guys, you're all sweet."

"Oh, come _on_," Jade said through her taco," Just stop lying to her and tell her she looks fat."

I looked down at my stomach while the others glared at Jade. Beck grabbed her arm.

"That's it; you're leaving the table now."

"I don't want to."

"Jade."

She sighed heavily and was led off by my cousin. We watched them leave, Beck sending me a sympathetic look, before they disappeared into the school. I looked back at the others.

"Am I fat?" I asked, poking my stomach.

They all shook their heads vigorously and protested. After awhile, Andre, Tori, and Cat drifted off after finishing their lunches. When it was just Robbie, me, and Rex left, Robbie leaned in toward my ear.

"You're coming over to my house today, right?"

I sighed and put an elbow on the table.

"Yeah, Rob, I am."

Rex snorted.

"This plan is crap. Your parents are never going to believe you're dating a cheerleader."

Robbie seemed to deflate. I put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't listen to Rex, Robbie."

He nodded, though I doubted he was actually taking my advice. After school, I drove to Robbie's house to find him panicking. He'd taken the bus home since I'd had cheerleading practice after school. Robbie, after letting me inside and up to his room, was pacing nervously around his room. He'd left Rex in the spare bedroom at my request after the puppet kept ridiculing the anxious teenager.

"Robbie, stop freaking out. You're the one who wanted to lie to your parents in the first place…"

"I know, but now I can't do this."

I was lying on his bed with my arms behind my head. I sighed and turned onto my side so I could watch him cross his room better. He eventually stopped and sighed. Sitting down on his bed he leaned his arms on his knees.

"They'll know I'm lying. I couldn't possibly get a cheerleader to date me! Why'd you have to make the team _today_?"

I glared at him, causing him to shrug.

"Forgive me for participating in an after school activity! If you would like to go to your Mamaw's house and have her shove girls at you, by all means wallow in your insecurities. As you no longer need my assistance, I shall take my leave."

I made to get off his bed, but Robbie put a hand on my shoulder to stop me.

"Lacey, wait…"

The two of us heard the front door open from downstairs. Robbie squeaked and jumped off the bed.

"Robbie? Are you home? Robbie?"

He turned and looked at me in alarm.

"She's home! What do we do? Oh my gawd…"

"Robbie?"

We could hear her coming up the stairs. With a heavy sigh, I reached up and grabbed Robbie's shirt collar, pulling him down onto the bed. He yelped as I easily pushed him onto his back and leaned in close to his face just as his bedroom door opened. Robbie was so stunned he didn't move for a second, which was just enough time for his mom to register our positions. With a small gasp, her hands went up to her mouth. I sat back on the bed and looked over my shoulder, giving the most embarrassed look I could. It wasn't that hard. I wouldn't want the mother of the guy I was dating to catch us in a make-out session. Robbie recovered from his shock and leaned up on his elbows.

"Mom! You…you should knock before you come in."

I was astounded that she looked so happy. She was almost bouncing with glee.

"Oh! I'm-I'm so sorry. Robbie…are you and Lacey…are you two dating?"

She squeaked "dating". Her hands dropped and her face had a huge smile on it. I glanced back at Robbie before falling to the side so his mom could see him completely.

"Uh…yeah…we are…?"

She squealed with delight and began backing out of the room.

"Oh my gosh, I have to call your father…your sister…oh, I can't forget Mamaw! And, Lacey, you're a cheerleader? This is so wonderful. I'll leave you two alone now. Sorry about intruding."

She backed out of the room and closed the door. Robbie and I were silent for a moment as we just sat on his bed. When our eyes met, the two of us couldn't help but smile.

"You're so smart," Robbie told me, before tackling me in a hug.

I giggled as he let me go.

"So, can you lie to your Mamaw?"

"Yeah, yeah, of course."

We sat for a moment without saying a word. Robbie broke the silence.

"So…while you're playing my girlfriend…would kissing be off limits?"

I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Tell me this whole plan wasn't so that you could pull a move on me in front of your family and I'd be unable to protest."

Robbie's eyes widened in shock and he shook his head vigorously, making me laugh.

"No! I just…I wanted to know what you'd be okay with. I mean…I'd get to kiss a cheerleader…"

I scoffed.

"So now you're going to stereotype me?"

"I don't mean it in a bad way!"

With a smile, I gave him a quick peck on the lips. He blinked at me in surprise.

"You've been kissed by a cheerleader."

I got off his bed and straightened out my outfit.

"I'm gonna head home for now. I don't think I need to be here when you're mom asks you _everything_ about how you asked me out."

Robbie cringed slightly, but smiled at me.

"Then I'll see you at school tomorrow?" he asked, getting off his bed.

"You got it."

Robbie followed me out to my car to keep his mom from cornering me with questions and I was soon on my way home.


End file.
